Due to the geographic coverage nature of wireless service, there are hundreds of thousands of cell towers in the United States. With over 200,000 cell sites in the U.S., geographically distributed everywhere, installation and maintenance at cell sites can be expensive, time-consuming, and complex. For example, cell sites include a shelter or cabinet located proximate to the cell tower. For network availability, the shelter or cabinet includes a battery backup for power redundancy when a primary power source is unavailable, such as commercial power. For example, depending on configuration, the battery backup may include 4, 8, 16, 48, etc. batteries which each can weigh several hundred pounds. The installation/removal process such batteries is labor intensive and slow. It would be advantageous to provide a battery installation improvement apparatus and method in cell site shelters and the like to address the labor intensity and speed.
Currently, operators are dealing with high battery theft rates. Former technicians, employees, and subcontractors with known site access information makes removal of batteries an easy target as in many cases no forced entry is required, in addition to third parties who simply break in. Batteries are either delivered directly to or are picked up by smelters and recyclers in exchange for currency based on lead content and weight—and thus can return a high dollar amount.
Additionally, with hundreds of thousands of batteries installed at existing cell sites—and given an average of 5 years of life expectancy—there is a continuous need to monitor and replace batteries. With ever increasing Environmental, Health & Safety (EH&S) regulations and requirements put on wireless carriers, there is a growing need to efficiently and properly remove, dispose, and recycle used batteries. Proper handling, packaging, storage, and transportation of batteries in the recycling process is a critical component of battery replacement services. A clear chain of custody is required from the original removal of batteries at cell sites through the final recycling certificate showing completion of proper disposal.
Also, there is a need to inspect, audit, verify, etc. maintenance and installation work performed at cell sites. Further, there is a need to verify the proper configuration, installation, etc. over time. With thousands or more cell sites, such work is difficult, costly, and time-consuming. There is a need for efficient cell site audit and inspection systems and methods, specifically to verify battery and equipment connection integrity.